CVE-2023-38684 json
Discourse vulnerable to ossible DDoS due to unbounded limits in various controller actions
published 2023-07-28 3 y ago modified 2026-09-08 2 mo ago also BIT-discourse-2023-38684 , EUVD-2023-42472 , GHSA-ff7g-xv79-hgmf
- cvss
- 5.3
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.6%
- EPSS 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 50%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, in multiple controller actions, Discourse accepts limit params but does not impose any upper bound on the values being accepted. Without an upper bound, the software may allow arbitrary users to generate DB queries which may end up exhausting the resources on the server. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Patch / fix
- bitnami discourse 3.0.6
- discourse discourse 3.0.6, 3.1.0.beta7
CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
- Assessed
- 2 y ago
Exploit prediction
0.64% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 50% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 5.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
| NVD | 3.1 | 7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| OSV | 3.1 | 7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
Affected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| bitnami | discourse | <3.0.6 |
3.0.6 |
Affected products
- discourse discourse
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
References
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2023-38684
- NVD CVE-2023-38684
- OSV BIT-discourse-2023-38684
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